SBI Q4 profit doubles to Rs 2,815 cr as NPA situation eases

SBI net non-performing assets in March quarter stood at 3.71% compared to 3.81% a year ago.

New Delhi: Net profit of country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) more than doubled to Rs 2,814.82 crore for the March quarter as its net NPAs or bad loans narrowed to 3.7 percent of total advances.

The state-owned bank had in contrast registered standalone net profit of Rs 1,263.81 crore in the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal, 2015-16.

The standalone net profit of the bank in 2016-17 increased by 5.36 percent to Rs 10,484 crore from Rs 9,951 crore in the previous financial year.

However, for the year ended March 2017, SBI's consolidated net profit declined by about 98 percent to Rs 241.23 crore from Rs 12,224.59 crore at the end of 2015-16 as the banks provisioning for the entire year had increased significantly.

Gross Non Performing Assets for SBI Group increased to 9.04 percent from 6.40 percent while net NPAs rose to 5.15 percent as against 3.73 percent at the end of March 2016.

On standalone basis, gross NPAs rose from 6.5 percent to 6.9 percent for the quarter ended March.

Net NPAs declined however from 3.81 percent to 3.71 percent during the same period.

According to SBI statement, 'loan loss provisions' were lowered to Rs 10,993 crore during the fourth quarter of last fiscal as against Rs 12,139 crore in the year-ago period.

It further said that in absolute terms the gross NPAs increased to Rs 1,12,343 crore on March 2017 from Rs 98,173 crore in the same period last year.

The operating profit of the bank for the fourth quarter increased by 12.93 percent, from Rs 14,192 crore in the year-ago period, to Rs 16,026 crore.

Net interest income increased by 17.33 percent from Rs 15,401 crore in the last quarter of 2015-16 to Rs 18,071 crore for the fourth quarter of last fiscal.

Total interest income increased by 10.36 percent from Rs 42,942 crore in the fourth quarter of 2015-16 to Rs 47,393 crore in same period of 2016-17.

Net Interest Margin (Domestic) declined by 0.16 percent to 3.11 percent as on March 2017 from 3.27 percent at the end of previous fiscal.

The fourth quarter result does not take into account acquisition of its five associates State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Patiala, and State Bank of Hyderabad and Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) as the merger came into effect from April 1.

SBI stock was trading nearly 2 percent up at Rs 308.70 on BSE shortly before close of the session.